Wednesday, December 17, 2008

My name is David and I'm a work-a-holic..


I've seen this before but I am reading it today just after the conclusion of a funeral. This person would have been 81 today. The reality is that none of us are promised tomorrow and so it's important that we consider just how precious our time is to those whom we love. I remember being in school and having my son Chris come to my desk and ask if he could make an appointment for Saturday so that we could spend time together. This season of Advent has been very busy and the church has seen far more of me than my wife. It's time to change that because my time with her is priceless! I invite you to read and reflect...

A man came home from work late, tired and irritated, to find his 5-year old son waiting for him at the door.

SON: 'Daddy, may I ask you a question?'

DAD: 'Yeah sure, what it is?' replied the man.

SON: 'Daddy, how much do you make an hour?'

DAD: 'That's none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?' the man said angrily.

SON: 'I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?'

DAD: 'If you must know, I make $50 an hour.'

SON: 'Oh,' the little boy replied, with his head down.

SON: 'Daddy, may I please borrow $25?'

The father was furious, 'If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish. I don't work hard everyday for such childish frivolities.'

The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door..

The man sat down and started to get even angrier about the little boy's questions. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money?

After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down , and started to think:

Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that $25.00 and he really didn't ask for money very often The man went to the door of the little boy's room and opened the door.

'Are you asleep, son?' He asked.

'No daddy, I'm awake,' replied the boy.

'I've been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier' said the man. 'It's been a long day and I took out my aggravation on you. Here's the $25 you asked for.'

The little boy sat straight up, smiling. 'Oh, thank you daddy!' he yelled. Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled up bills.

The man saw that the boy already had money, started to get angry again.

The little boy slowly counted out his money, and then looked up at his father.

'Why do you want more money if you already have some?' the father grumbled.

'Because I didn't have enough, but now I do,' the little boy replied.

'Daddy, I have $50 now.. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you.'

The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little son, and he begged for his forgiveness.

It's just a short reminder to all of you working so hard in life. We should not let time slip through our fingers without having spent some time with those who really matter to us, those close to our hearts. Do remember to share that $50 worth of your time with someone you love.

If we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of hours. But the family & friends we leave behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives.

Friday, December 12, 2008

Antsy? No Ant-see. It's a great view!!!!

As we struggle with the various events and experiences in our lives, here is an interesting story from across the world that might help to give us a little perspective on how we can see things if we do not, or we do, trust them to God...I know if gave me something to think about...

The Child's Ant
================

God had been trying to get my attention for some months, but I was too deep in debt to hear Him. However, it took just one divinely orchestrated incident to put everything in perspective.

I had woken up early to prepare my two little daughters for school. As I tried to put the older one in the bathtub, she saw an ant right there. You would have thought she saw a viper.

All my entreaties to her to put down her feet were ignored: her greatest problem at that point was an ant. To her, an ant was a big deal, but it wasn't to me. I could easily take care of an ant any day. Then I got impatient with her for fearing an ant.

At that point, I had a MountainWings Moment! It was as if I heard an audible voice: "Is that not what you have been doing to me all these past months?"

What? You mean all the debts I thought were big enough to crush me were like that ant to God? I had to apologize for having a low impression of God.

Today, a few months later, all the debts are gone.

~A MountainWings Original by Sylvester Ojenagbon, Lagos, Nigeria~

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http://www.mountainwings.com/past/8347.htm